“If we want to enlarge the picture of Jammu and Kashmir as an inseparable part of India then there must be a critical thinking on the existence of Article 370.”
Analyzing the existence of Article 370 in the Constitution of India writes Vishank Singh
So weak and
feeble I felt as the citizen of a state which is taming the leaders like Omar
Abdullah on the soil of our motherland. Mr. Abdullah, one of the
opportunist faces of the nation’s politics has recently tried to warn the
nation through his statement regarding the existence of Article 370. He
stated that repelling the Article 370 would result in the disintegration of
Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian state. In what extents his claims and aims
are rigid is nearly unknown to us. But this statement is surely displaying the
disrespect existing inside the heart of the Chief Minister regarding India as a
nation.
The question
is not about removing the Article 370 from the Indian Constitution but it’s the
high time that we should welcome the debate regarding the pros and cons of
article 370. Developing a critical approach inside the citizens is the base of
the democratic structure of any state. But how can we debate about the issues
if people can very directly claim that the debate or critic regarding a
concerned topic would result into the disintegration of the nation? It is very
necessary to know the historical context of this Article 370 by studying the
epoch of Indian history. In 1947 Kashmir was ruled by a Hindu King, Raja
Hari Singh who decided to remain independent away from the influence of
Indian or Pakistani state after the partition. But when the Pakistani forces
(dressed as civilians) started plundering and capturing the Kashmir by force,
Raja was forced to sign an accession treaty with Nehruvian government of
India. After all this, under the influence of the then Sadar-e-Riyasat (CM)
of Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah, Indian government gave Jammu and Kashmir a
special status with an introduction of Article 370 in the Constitution of
India. The moral ideas behind the introduction of this article was just to help
the state of Kashmir to adjust and normalize itself in order to become a part of the mainstream
India slowly and gradually. It was thought that with time people of Jammu and
Kashmir (after getting incentives from article 370) would merge their ideas
together with the ideas of mainstream Indian subcontinent so that both of them
could sustain peacefully in harmony as a one nation. But some people with the
same intentions like Omar Abdullah have never understood these motives.
Sheikh
Abdullah always used the article 370 in order to make profit in his political
career. And he did succeed. But if we think on the ethical grounds based on the
rational ideas of a nation then the eternal existence of Article 370 is
actually controversial and contradictory to the norms of a Nation state like
India. This article gives some special powers to the state government of Jammu
and Kashmir according to which the Central Government is only
independent to
take the decisions related to Defense, Foreign Relations and Communication in
the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Central government cannot take the decision regarding
any other subject before getting an assent from the state government. This
submissive attitude of the central government is motivated by this article 370
which should be criticized from each of its corners. The most awkward part
is this that according to the existence of this article the state of Jammu and
Kashmir is having its own set of constitution.According to the provisions
of this very article the state of Jammu and Kashmir can also make any law which
it thinks can result in the progress of Jammu and Kashmir even when it is
violating the main framework of the Indian Constitution. This type of
Constitutional arrangement is very discriminatory in nature when we think and
conceive Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India. But the matter of
estranging privilege does not stop here. According to the provisions stated any
girl from Jammu and Kashmir will be separated from her rights and benefits as a
Kashmirite if she is married to a boy of Non-Kashmiri Indian
citizenship. On the other hand there is a surprising provision which states that
if a boy of Kashmir is married to a girl of a foreign nationality then he and
his spouse would be entitled to the benefits titled to a Kashmirite.
This type of intra-national differences (which was thought to be temporary
during its formation) provides an impetus to the feeling of Kashmir as
something different from other states within the Indian state. It is creating a
gap between the idea of India inside the Kasmirites and other Indians.
This is harmful for the nation in itself.
This type of
arrangement which exists inside the Indian state was made to introduce a path
which can diffuse the people of Kashmir in the mainstream of Indian society so
that they could feel one and united as an Indian. But the sustained article
which has alienated the lacks of Kashmirite from the land of India is still in
action in order to increase the gap between Srinagar and Chennai. If there is a voice from the PMO that there should be a debate and critical analysis
of article 370 then it is a right step towards the better and united India. But
the political masters like Abdullah family will never understand this because
it can cost them their throne. It is hidden from nobody that the recent
anti-national statement from the Honorable Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is all
in the backdrop of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election which is peeping
from the window of Srinagar. The point here is to welcome a critical approach
about article 370 in order to make a united nation where there are no two flags
and two constitutions. A united India where the people of Jammu and Kashmir are
not alienated from the mainland dreams, where they could realize their full
potential and nationality as an Indian. It’s time to go for Mimaansa regarding
Article 370.
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| Vishank Singh (Student, University Of Delhi) Contact- 9654751123 E-mail- vishanksingh1@gmail.com |
